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Topic: Cincinnati Climate (Read 25055 times)

I was not sure where to put this, and I did not see anything from a search, but I came across some interesting information on Cincinnati's climate. Apparently, the area is in transition zone, and in many ways has characteristics of a humid subtropical climate. Most of the state officially has a humid continental climate based on the Koppen climate classification(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koppen_climate_classification). I also had no idea Ohio had many different geographic regions, and the southwest portion is in the bluegrass region.

Anyway, I had always wondered how my sister has a southern magnolia tree in Clifton, but that tree is apparently fairly common in the area and is a "subtropical indicator". There is a map of where it grows in the US in its link below. It is interesting to see some of the other indicators and the story behind the wall (or Lazarus) lizard - it was first established here in O'Bryonville. I am sure some will find it boring and please move it if it should go somewhere else, but here is the topic from Wikipedia:

The summers in Cincinnati generally are warm and humid with cool evenings. The mean annual temperature is 54 °F (12 °C), with an average annual snowfall of 16 inches (58.4 cm) and an average annual rainfall of 41 inches (1,040 mm). The wettest seasons are the spring and summer, although rainfall is fairly constant all year round. During the winter, particularly in January and February, several days of snow can be expected, allowing for winter sports, although snowfall is lighter than in most of Ohio. January temperatures range from 22 to 39 °F (-6 to 4 °C) and July temperatures range from 66 to 87 °F (19 to 30 °C).[15] The highest recorded temperature was 103.0 °F (39.4 °C) on August 17, 1988, and the lowest recorded temperature was -25°F (-32 °C) on January 18, 1977.

The weather in Cincy sucks. If our greatest cities were southern I'd definitely prefer to live there. Harsh winters are obnoxious.

HAHA! Harsh Winter? I absolutely love that we may get 1-2 major snow storms a year. Being from the upper midwest (Twin Cities) where it got to -40 at night (not wind chill BTW), I will take a Cincy winter anyday.

False...I'd rather be too cold than too hot any day. You can take measures to warm yourself up (more layers of clothing etc) but when you're hot, you are just hot...even walking around with NO clothes on, only helps a slight bit.

Interesting to point out too that Cincinnati is actually farther south than the French Riveria and other parts of the world with palm trees. It's roughly the same latitude as Rome, Italy and Seville, Spain. People assume that Paris and London are at roughly the same latitude as New York City when in fact they're as far north as Hudson Bay.

Interesting to point out too that Cincinnati is actually farther south than the French Riveria and other parts of the world with palm trees. It's roughly the same latitude as Rome, Italy and Seville, Spain. People assume that Paris and London are at roughly the same latitude as New York City when in fact they're as far north as Hudson Bay.

There is something about this under the whole rating of the hardiness of an area, and all of the UK is surprisingly mild for how far north it is. It also has something to do with the moderating effect (don't know if that all falls under gulf stream or something completely different) of the ocean, but if you looked at some of the climate zones they obviously do not go in straight lines along the lattitude. There are a lot of things at play.

I too will take the one or two snow storms each year - I think we have as mild of a winter as you could get for a northern city outside of DC, and some might consider that city to be slightly southern.

I did the math an at 48 degrees north latitude Paris, France is approximately 600 miles north of Cincinnati. By comparison, if you go 600 miles south of Cincinnati you're on the Florida Panhandle.

One of the worst things about living in Cincinnati is listening to people complain about the weather...too hot, too cold, spring was too short, the leaves fell off too quick, etc., etc. Without a doubt people exaggerate the winters the most...Cleveland gets twice as much snow. All these people flee to Florida because the weather is supposedly so unbearable, despite the fact everyone's homes and cars are heated an one can easily spend less than an hour a week exposed to the cold.

All these people flee to Florida because the weather is supposedly so unbearable, despite the fact everyone's homes and cars are heated an one can easily spend less than an hour a week exposed to the cold.

I'm sorry but i guess you can speak for yourself. I spend 20+ hours outside a week in the winter.

The ironic thing is many people in the sunbelt spend all summer indoors!

So far I have not found it all that pleasant to spend time outside down here in Atlanta...the humidity is ridiculous. Combine that with the pollen, smog, and shear heat and you've got a miserable climate...if you ask me. Also I've noticed that most people don't drive with their windows down here (whereas in Cincinnati they do).

Interesting discussion. I dont know that it is really that cold in Cincinnati, but rather the relative lack of sunshine for half the year makes it feel worse than other southern and western towns.

Personally, since this entire thread is really opinion, I'd take an hot August where I can still cool off at the pool or lake, and golf 12 months out of the year, than the cold, rainy, cloudy weather in Cincinnati from November - March.

Also, while latitude is a major factor in the predictor of climate; jet stream, ocean currents, proximity to large bodies of water, and elevation are also a huge variable in climate, so while yes, London and much of Northern Europe is extremely far to the north, the warm currents of the gulf stream greatly moderate its average temperatures. I think many people already pointed this out, I just feel like reiterating the obvious.

I too love the weather changes of Midwestern cities. Cincinnati's fluctuates a little too much at times, but I enjoy the snow in the winter, colorful leaves in the fall, and budding growth in the spring...summer can get nasty but it's all good.

...there's a reason that Elm Street and Main Street resonate in our cultural memory. It's not because we're sentimental saps. It's because this pattern of human ecology produced places that worked wonderfully well, and which people deeply loved. - Jim Kunstler

Is it just me, or is the water coming out of the cold water taps in Cincinnati this summer warmer than it's ever been?

I think it depend on where the lines run after they get into the building. Mine are warmer, and I assumed it was because the pipes run a long way from the basement through walls and even in the attic. But I suppose the actual tempurature in the tanks could be warming in heat like this.

Some more fun facts...believe it or not Lexington, KY is roughly at the same latitude as Sicily and the boot of Italy, with the southern extreme of Sicily actually being about 10 miles south of the northernmost extreme of Africa. Africa stretches from about 37 degrees north latitude to 34 degrees south latitude...that means going from the northern coast of Africa to South Africa is roughly the same distance as going from Lexington, KY to the equator then back up to Atlanta. Definitely, if you walk into a cocktail party and tell people that Kentucky is at the same latitude as the northern tip of Africa, people are going to think you're nuts.

I don't watch a lot of movies and I didn't see The Godfather until about 3 years ago but it sets a up a really interesting contrast of the Sicilian and New York climates (as well as Las Vegas), which is a really fantastic example in itself of how Hollywood has such a profound effect on how Americans perceive the midwestern and northeastern climates. Los Angeles itself is, of course, in a Mediterranian climate zone, and has relentlessly since its inception given credibility the promise of escape and exoticism to the older parts of the country by the fact that the movies are made there and the celebrities themselves live there in great numbers. Oddly Las Vegas to some extent exists as an exotic escape for LA since so much of the utopic and fresh-start promise of Los Angeles was ruined decades ago.

But The Godfather is so brilliant in that the paradoxes of mafia ethics are mirrored in a strange way by the natural and built beauty (and tranquility) of Sicily and that the mafia is motivated entirely by business and there is really no mention for a preference for nice weather. And therein lies so much of the paradox of "paradise" areas -- that aside from the tourism industry, they're bad places for factories, call centers, universities, etc. and in fact few major cities around the world are in spectacular settings, and fewer in spectacular tropical or subtropical settings. The former colonial city-states of Asia are a bit of an exception, but then again the circumstances which brought those places about are quite extraordinary. Las Vegas is a creation of the mafia, and it's incredible to think that the most meretricious and continually evolving place in America is the product of people who came from a place that is revered for its timeless character.